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Biblical Church

King Makers

I went out for some Mexican food with my friends Rich and Craig and at one point we talked about some of the larger churches here in the Phoenix area. We discussed some of the multi-million dollar homes the pastors of these large churches had or were currently building for themselves. Of course this is not only a local issue. I’m sure we all are aware of the big salaries, mansions and jet planes many of the ministers around the country have. I certainly don’t believe Christians should live in poverty but it does seem the excesses of ministers are not a true reflection of the life of Christ and His followers.

The question is…how does this happen? I’ve always been fascinated with the Hebrew people demanding a king, recorded in 1 Samuel 8. God’s plan was to have Judges and Prophets guide the people but the people wanted a king like the other nations. Samuel warned them.

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”

1 Samuel 8:10-18 NKJV

Is it our fault? Are we the ones still demanding a king? Are we the king makers? Instead of developing personal intimacy with Christ and intimacy with other followers, we would rather go to a large facility and listen to a king tell us what and how to do life. Many of the warnings stated by Samuel still ring true today. At church we become workers for the king, busy bees, building his kingdom. We lose our freedom and of course we are required to give our tenth. For most this is the easier path, requiring us to give our time, talent and treasure but not develop true intimacy that the Father requires of us.

It’s quite sad that the people rejected God.

But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

1 Samuel 8:6-9 NKJV

I hope you take the time to examine your heart to see if you are truly serving the King or if you are in service to a king. There is so much beauty and freedom in doing our Christian walk the way God intended. Yes, the path is difficult but the results are worth every step!

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Books / Videos

Pagan Christianity

Incredibly researched and written, Pagan Christianity, authored by Frank Viola and George Barna, is a must read. They explore the roots of our church practices and, unfortunately, confirm that pagan practices have had a huge influence on what we do today.

FYI. Pagan C. is not a stand alone volume. The majority of those who read it without the constructive sequels misinterpret and misapply the message. Check out the video-audio at PaganChristianity.org for an explanition. Thx!

Frank Viola, Facebook post response.

Yes, it’s true, you can use the information in the book to hammer away at people but it is not the intent of this book. If the Holy Spirit hasn’t begun the process of revealing truth to a person, no amount of head bashing will work.

Below is an excerpt about the introduction of the pew. It may seem insignificant but you can get a sense of the research that has gone into this book.

The pew is perhaps the greatest inhibitor of face-to-face fellowship. It is a symbol of lethargy and passivity in the contemporary church and has made corporate worship a spectator sport.

The word pew is derived from the Latin podium. It means a seat raised up above a floor level or a “balcony”. Pews were unknown to the church building for the first thousand years of Christian history. In the early basilicas, the congregation stood throughout the entire service. (This is still the practice among many Eastern Orthodox).

By the thirteenth century, backless benches were gradually introduced into English parish buildings. These benches were made of stone and placed against the walls. They were then moved into the body of the building (the area called the nave). At first, the benches were arranged in a semicircle around the pulpit. Later they were fixed to the floor.

The modern pew was introduced in the forteenth century, though it was not commonly found in churches until the fifteenth century. At that time, wooden benches supplanted the stone seats. By the eighteenth century box pews became popular.

Because box pews often had high sides, the pulpits had to be elevated so as to be seen by the people. Thus the “wineglass” pulpit was born during colonial times. Eighteenth-century family box pews were replaced with slip pews so that all the people faced the newly erected high platform where the pastor conducted the service.

So what is the pew? The meaning of the word tells it all. It is a lowered “balcony” – detached seating from which to watch performances on a stage (the pulpit). It immobilizes the congregation of the saints and renders them mute spectators. It hinders face-to-face fellowship and interaction.

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Biblical Church

Prepare and Warn

I really don’t like to write blogs that may be time sensitive but I’m making an exception here. Today I read two articles, one was titled ‘Berlin city official advises citizens not to make their Jewish faith visible’ and the other one was ‘US nabs Iranian national who snuck across southern border in dead of night’. Also today, my cousin Danny talked about the church he attends. He wonders if it’s really necessary that people are assigned to carry guns inside the church to protect the congregants.

My good friend Rachel posted a YouTube link in our House Church group chat. I usually don’t watch videos about prophetic predictions especially if they are an hour long, however, because it was Rachel I checked it out.

At one point they were comparing the days of Noah to our present day. They referenced Luke 17.

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

Luke 17:26-30

They made the point that Noah was doing two things. Noah, knowing a storm was coming, was preparing a place of safety and he was also warning people.

If you’re on social media it seems Christians have the second part down. They are predicting and warning all the time, especially now. Concerning the first part, I know that there are ministries out there prepping people for the upcoming storm: buy a generator, raise chickens, get silver coins, accumulate food and medicine, but is there more to preparing a place of safety? What happens if synagogues and churches become targets of hate? Will every synagogue and church need armed gunmen inside and outside of worship facilities?

For us, we are building Arks. House Churches across the globe are places of safety. There may come a time when people are afraid to go to a building to worship. Where will they go? Hopefully we will be ready. We will need plenty of Arks to welcome them in two by two, now is the time to build…the sky is already getting cloudy.

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Books / Videos

The Three Myths

An excerpt from a book by Rad Zdero entitled The Global House Church Movement.

My purpose in writing this book is not to tear down anything that God is doing in and through the traditional church. God has always, is currently, and will continue to use it in drawing people to himself. Of this I have no doubt. It is not my intention at all to throw stones at my brothers and sisters in traditional churches.

However, it must be admitted, traditional churches also perpetuate the unbiblical and often ineffective ‘cathedral’ model of church, characterized by three cardinal myths that prevent individual believers and the Church as a whole from functioning as strategically and biblically as possible. In essence, the ‘cathedral’ model of church used by many today is that of a holy man performing a holy ceremony in a holy building. Let’s look at each of these points briefly.

The first myth is that of the ‘holy man’. Many believe that seminary-trained professional clergy are absolutely indispensible. Biblically, in contrast, the vision of the Church is a priesthood of all believers using their talents for building up God’s kingdom (1 Peter 2:4-10, 1 Cor 12:7-12, 27-30). Make no mistake, there is a biblical pattern of appointed leadership (Mark 3:13-15, Ats 13:1-3, Titus 1:5-9), but this never should result in others believers’ talents and skills withering from lack of use, which often happens in conventional churches. In addition, today’s single-pastor model stands in contrast to a team of co-equal volunteer elders that managed networks of house church in the first century (Acts 20:17-21; Titus 1:5).

The second myth is that of the ‘holy service’. The very word ‘church’ for many conjures up images of a few people performing a ritual – however useful or exciting the ‘show’ may be – in which a few designated individuals perform for a rather passive audience. These gatherings are really one-man shows. Biblical house churches, in contrast, afford open, interactive, and participatory meetings (1 Cor 14:26, Eph 5:19, Col 3:16, Heb 10:25), being an ideal breeding ground for leadership development, every – member participation, and relationship building.

The third myth is that of the ‘holy building’. Most people assume that church buildings, or large rented spaces for corporate meetings, are required to be a legitimate church. Whatever church buildings may or may not be useful for, the book of Acts and history bear our that they are not requirements for rapid church planting movements, evangelism, or discipleship; in fact, they are often a hindrance. Church buildings also breed a ‘temple mentality’, which puts church in a box and, thereby, prevents Christians from seeing their very neighborhoods as mission fields. As well, the massive practical release of time, energy, and money from the elimination of building projects and/or rental payments should challenge us rethink current practices.

Today, God is currently ushering in a monumental structural reformation of the global church that addresses these three myths. Cell churches – with their equal emphasis on home cell groups and Sunday morning services in a church building – and house church movements are growing rapidly in non-Western nations and are being used in startling ways to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission in this genertion. House church movements though, are even more effective than cell churches in eliminating the above three myths and are closest to the apostolic model of church. Therefore, what I am suggesting is that traditional churches are good, cell churches are better, and house church movements are best. As such, one purpose of this book is to call the church in the West to rethink its approach in light of New Testament practice and strategic effectiveness.

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Perspective

Trespasses and Sins

I found this article by John Fenn of CWOWI to be very insightful.

Perhaps the single largest doctrinal error in Christian culture today revolves around the concept of forgiveness. What Jesus taught within the context of Jewish culture and Old Testament law is completely twisted by the modern church.  

Paul stated in Ephesians 2:1: “And you has He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Trespasses AND sins. They are not the same. 

A trespass is one person sinning against another. It is horizontal, person to person, and deals with injury. A sin is against God, it is vertical and deals with the guilt.

Our inner demand for justice is built around the injury. They did wrong, we want them caught. We want to hold them accountable. Church culture says ‘forgive them’ which takes care of the guilt, but it doesn’t address the injury they inflicted on us. That is our conflict. We will forgive, but we want an apology. We want them to admit what they did. We want them to make it right. 

Our inner demand for justice agrees with the Law of the Trespass. Everything Jesus and Paul taught on the subject is based on the Law of the Trespass.

Law of the Trespass: Leviticus 6: 1-7 

“If anyone is unfaithful to the Lord by making a trespass against his neighbor in something entrusted to him, or something left in their care or something stolen, of if they cheat their neighbor, or find something lost and then lie about it or not return it. If they sin in these ways and realize their guilt… 

“They must return what they stole or got by deceit or lying. They must return the lost property they found to their neighbor, and in anything like this that they lied about or did to their neighbor, AND add 20% of the value when they return it to the person they trespassed against. 

“Then they (with the other person) will take all this to the priest who will make a sacrifice for them, and they will be forgiven of these trespasses.” 

Notice they have to make it right with the person they trespassed against BEFORE they can be forgiven by God for that trespass.

That doesn’t threaten their salvation for the law is specific to each particular trespass. It means if they keep that which was stolen, or they never admit to the person they lied about something, or any trespass, and they never reconcile by admitting their trespass, when they stand before the Lord they will be held accountable. 

The victim may forgive them, but they haven’t done what is right to be forgiven by God, which is to apologize to the person they trespassed again. For that trespass they will be held accountable by Him.

What does this look like in modern times?

How do you add 20% interest in our day? In their day, if someone found a lost leather coat that was worth $500, they would have to return the coat and add 20% or $100, and give the person they trespassed against the $100 and the coat, THEN go to the priest to receive God’s forgiveness. 

Today, if we trespassed against someone and wanted to make it right, we would apologize to them, then that “20%” could be taking them to lunch, or meeting them for tea or coffee which you pay for. It could be sending a card or note after you reconciled, just to be sure all is right between you once again. That 20% would be doing something just to be sure you two are okay again.

BUT….If a person keeps the found coat instead of returning it, they become guilty of that sin of stealing before God. They won’t go to hell, but they will be held accountable for stealing.  

Jesus spoke of the Law of the Trespass in Matthew 5: 25-26: “Agree with your adversary (the person you trespassed against) quickly while you are on the way with them. Or they might deliver you to the judge, who will turn you over to the officer and from there to prison. I tell you the truth, you won’t come out from there until you’ve paid every penny you owe.” 

Christians have misunderstood this for years, thinking this is heaven or hell. It is not. It is simply an exhortation to reconcile with the person you trespassed against, for if you do not, you will be charged with theft, fined the 20% and sent to prison. That was the custom in that day. 

The larger passage is about anger without cause, and ‘leave your gift at the altar and go and be reconciled to your brother.’ It’s about being willing to make it right when you’ve trespassed against someone. 

This is the big one

Mark 11: 25-26: “And when you stand praying, forgive if you have something against another so that your Father in heaven may forgive your trespasses. But if you don’t forgive (their trespasses against you) neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

This is not heaven or hell, this is the Law of the Trespass. First, forgiveness is a decision, not an emotion. It is a decision to forgive that person who injured us. You don’t have to feel good about them or what happened for you were injured. They remain guilty before God unless they come to you and reconcile. 

That said, both Jesus and Steven asked the Father NOT to charge their executioners of their trespass of murdering each. We have that option of asking the Father to forgive them anyway, even if they don’t account for their injury to us or seek reconciliation. 

Jesus said at His resurrection: “Whosoever sins you forgive, they are forgiven. Whosoever sins you retain, they are retained.” We are given the authority to use His name against demons, to use His name to lay hands on the sick. We can come before the Father in His name to seek mercy and grace to help in time of need. We can also ask the Father to forgive a person’s trespass even if they don’t reconcile first with us and add that 20%. OR…we can ask Him to deal with them. 

Paul in II Timothy 4: 14-16: In v16 he says when he was first indicted in Roman court none of his friends went with him to court, and he said: “I pray God that it won’t be laid to their account.” 

But just before, in v14 he wrote this: “Alexander the Coppersmith did me much harm. The Lord will reward him according to what he did.” 

In the case of Alexander the Coppersmith, Paul chose not to release him from the injury he did to Paul. I’m sure Paul forgave him the guilt, but he didn’t release him from the harm he did to Paul. Paul chose to let the Lord deal with him. That meant if Alexander never repented, he would stand before the Lord to give account on that harm of which Paul wrote. 

There are some people who will not apologize for the injury they did to us, and we forgive them vertically, but we want them to face the consequences of their action. That is what Paul did – let the Lord deal with Alexander the Coppersmith. That isn’t unforgiveness. It is forgiving them vertically, but because they won’t do what is right horizontally, we release them into the Lord’s hands and go about our business.

The link to the article is here.

Categories
Biblical Church

The Problem With Success

It’s so encouraging to hear stories of House Churches growing and expanding. In Jason Shepperd’s book, A Church of House Churches, he describes an initial group of forty people meeting in 2 House Churches expanding over time to thousands in 75 House Churches. They also started Church Project, a more conventional church that meets twice on Sunday and has about 4,000 people gathering. It seems there are other Church Project Network churches. Together there are 8-10,000 who consider Church Project their church.

Many of us that have established House Churches, have seen imperfections in the conventional church model and would never consider going back. It might seem odd for a House Church network to grow and become successful and start a conventional church. Jason Shepperd describes it like this:

All of this happened with no centralized office, no phone number. No receptionist. No office foyer. No mailers. No marketing.

The rest of his book, which is only around 100 pages, seems like a defense of his decision to incorporate a conventional church and a network of House Churches. He writes the following:

But, God has also seemed to value the large gathering of His people. There is a value to corporate worship. In the Old Testament, people gathered regularly for feasts and festivals and the worship was pretty phenomenal, planned out and prepared and had a ton of people present. In the New Testament, where House Church was birthed, large corporate gatherings still happened. The apostles taught people by the thousands. They were kicked out of the Temple courts and rented Solomon’s Colonnade, a lecture hall contiguous to the Temple, for weekly gatherings for thousands of people.

I’m not sure what smaller communities will look like in Heaven. I’m not sure what diversity will look like in Heaven with age, gender, skin color, etc. But, the glimpses that God has given into corporate worship of His people in Heaven, joining with the angels, will be phenomenal.

God seems to love the corporate gathering of His people in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and in Heaven.

One of my mentors, Teryl Hebert, was a conventional pastor that dissolved his church to pursue a more relational model. There are a number of House Churches he is overseeing. Teryl holds corporate gatherings about 3-4 times a year so new people can meet others, they can worship together and they can discuss material and spiritual concerns as a community. From my experience, this seems to be the trend for House Church Networks…not developing a traditional weekly corporate gathering but setting up meetings whenever the need arises.

The author claims there is scripture to justify the Church Project but never gives any except the references to the Temple court and the Colonnade. Maybe they rented Solomon’s Colonnade for a time, but Christ followers were kicked out of there also. Beyond that, there seems to be no Biblical references in the New Testament for the church meeting in large venues with thousands of people.

It would be interesting to hear comments from those that have experienced Church Project. From the book it appears that this movement is highly successful, vibrant, growing and financially helping lots of people.

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Books / Videos

Losing Our Focus

This is such a great article by John Fenn of CWOWI. I know it resonates with me; I hope it resonates with you also.

What’s the buzz….

Rome burned in July of the year 64 for 6 days. Nero blamed Christians, which started the first federally sponsored persecution of Christians. 10 Caesars persecuted Christians on a federal level, right up to the time it was legalized by Constantine in June of 313AD. (Nero, Vespasian, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Maximinus, Decius, Valerian, Diocletian, (Constantine & Galerius, early in Constantine’s reign would be 11)

Up to that point persecution had been localized and sporadic. In Jerusalem Acts 7 records Stephen’s martyrdom less than a year after Pentecost. James, the brother of John, was killed in Acts 12, about 10 years after Pentecost. 

As Christianity began to spread, unbelieving Jews followed Paul and stirred up trouble. In Acts 18: 12-16 in Corinth, Greece, the Jews tried to make their persecution of Christianity a federal case. 

The passage tells us the Roman judge Gallio, who would be like a Supreme Court judge in our day, ruled against the Jews, saying their case against Paul was not a federal case. This gave Christianity about 10 years of relative peace with Rome, though Paul continued to be persecuted by the Jews within their religious system – and when they could spread it to local government, they did so. 

What is amazing is the letters of the New Testament barely mention persecution. Peter’s first letter is about the subject, but without naming specific instances. The letters from Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude are about Christ in us, what He has done for us, what our lives in Him should be. 

Compare that with many Christians today and their focus. Were the authors of the NT informed on current events? Certainly. Was that their focus? Not at all. 

Today, we use the excuse of ‘wanting to know what God is doing’, to surf the web, and honestly, much of it is focused on what the devil is doing. But we don’t see that in the pages of the NT. They were all about what Christ in them meant to their lives, how they could be more Christ-like, and urging us to develop the healthy relationships in Christ so necessary for growth in Him and as people. 

Whatever happens in the world has not caught the Father or Lord by surprise. The Father is still going to provide just like He has always provided to this point – if your gaze is focused on Him and not on the fear of world events. 

The issue with many is not lack of faith, but a high level of unbelief. That comes by looking at circumstances more than looking at the miracles He has already done in your life. When you count up all that He has done to get you to this point, then whatever is ‘out there’ in the world seems rather inconsequential – for He had not change, His arm not shortened to save. 

Focus on what He is doing in you; that’s what He asks of each of us daily. If we seek Him and His righteousness, the rest will be added. 

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Books / Videos

House Church

House Church: Embracing Authentic Community by Vanessa Hensel. I really enjoyed reading this short and sweet (like the cover photo) book. Below is an excerpt from this book.

Over time, I realized that my perspective had been not just slightly, but majorly misaligned. My concerns were centered on myself, my perceived failures, and worries, when, in reality, they were inconsequential. In a thriving house church community, Jesus should be the focus. He is the reason we come together, and the logistics and execution are left in His capable hands. Since this revelation, hosting has become a joyful and adventurous endeavor, significantly liberating my walk with Jesus. Whenever I find myself magnifying trivial concerns into insurmountable obstacles, the Holy Spirit promptly reminds me of that transformational week, and His peace reestablishes itself in my heart. His continual presence is a paramount blessing and an absolute necessity.

As mentioned earlier, the weekly gathering isn’t the main objective of the house church community. It serves as a summary or a catch-up session encapsulating the events and interactions of the week. The communal life should permeate all facets of our lives beyond the weekly gathering. Every possible activity that can involve other community members should be an opportunity for engagement. Whether it’s a coffee shop visit during lunch break, taking kids to the dentist, retail therapy, or selecting plants for your garden, these mundane tasks can become communal endeavors. Similarly, shared interests and hobbies present excellent opportunities for connection.

We need to dismantle the American ideal of independence and self-reliance and foster interdependence within our communities. Our daily mindset should be reoriented to see every situation as a potential opportunity to spend time with our community, working in unity as much as possible. There is no task too big, small, mundane, or challenging that can’t be shared with the family. A collective effort makes tasks lighter, struggles less burdensome. We must let go of the notion that we can handle everything independently, even if it’s possible, because it contradicts God’s plan for us. The worldly view encourages self-reliance and individual resilience, but God calls us to rely on each other and live in community.

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Books / Videos

Gospel Houses

Here is an excerpt from Gospel Houses written by Art Thomas. The book is a great resource for creating and sustaining House Church. It is packed with practical and real life scenarios of doing life together that will help your House Church grow and become effective. After reading this I found myself refreshed and fired up to go out and make disciples.

A shepherd’s primary responsibility is not to feed the sheep or make them healthy. A shepherd’s primary responsibility is to make sure the sheep are alive. Yes, this involves feeding them, caring for them, and monitoring their health; but these are all activities we do with living sheep. Otherwise, we find ourselves rolling carcasses from one pasture to the next, force-feeding and grooming them in hopes that something will change for the better.

The gospel is God’s power for salvation. It’s the mechanism that makes dead things live. And it’s the one meal that provides eternal life for sheep.

A moment ago, I said that the main problem isn’t the shepherd. But this doesn’t completely absolve shepherds of all responsibility. Yes, the main problem is dead sheep, but shepherds have been entrusted with a life-giving message that must be lived, proclaimed, and applied so that the sheep can live and thrive. When shepherds focus first on feeding and not on resurrecting, the work is hard, and messes ensue. Shepherds must make the gospel the priority in ministry to the sheep. As mentioned in chapter 13, it’s the solution to every problem. All other teaching or advice build on a gospel foundation so the Holy Spirit can express Jesus’s life through each person.

Far too many pastors are tempted to shepherd the old man. They give advice that even a person dead in their sin could follow. They try to manage people’s behavior. And when that behavior can’t be managed, they find ways to cater to unsanctified personalities.

Living sheep are harder to control but far easier to lead and serve. And that’s great because our mission was never to control the sheep anyway. Healthy, living, thriving sheep often take care of themselves. They eat on their own. They multiply without the shepherd forcing the issue. And they raise up the young with natural instincts and minimal help from the shepherd.

Jesus doesn’t expect you to shovel dead sheep from one pasture to the next. That’s not Christian leadership. He expects you to shepherd living sheep–people who have been made alive by the Spirit through the power found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Categories
Books / Videos

When the Church Was a Family

What does it really mean to be adopted into the family of Christ? Are we truly brothers and sisters in Christ? How far have we drifted from God’s original intent of His church being a family? Below is an excerpt from the book above.

Around AD 260, a devastating plague afflicted the great city of Alexandria. People were dying right and left, and the church family suffered some devastating losses. The response of the local church to the plague constitutes one of the most powerful examples of Christian brotherhood in the annals of church history.

Here is a section of a letter written by Dionysis, the overseer of the Christian community in the city:

“The most, at all events, of our brethren in their exceeding love and affection for the brotherhood were unsparing of themselves and clave to one another, visiting the sick without a thought as to the danger, assiduously ministering to them, tending them in Christ, and so most gladly departed this life along with them; being infected with the disease from others, drawing upon themselves the sickness from their neighbors, and willingly taking over their pains…In this manner the best at any rate of our brethren departed this life, certain presbyters and deacons and some of the laity…So, too, the bodies of the saints they would take up in their open hands to their bosom, closing their eyes and shutting their mouths, carrying them on their shoulders and laying them out; they would cling to them, embrace them, bathe and adorn them with their burial clothes, and after a little while receive the same services themselves, for those that were left behind were ever following those that went before. But the conduct of the heathen was the exact opposite. Even those who were in the first stages of the disease they thrust away, and fled from their dearest. They would even cast them in the road half-dead, and treat the unburied corpses as vile refuse.”

Dionysius began his description with the use of family words: “brethren,” “the brotherhood.” He closed with a pointed contrast, comparing the behavior of his Alexandrian Christians with behavior among the natural families of pagans in the surrounding community (they “fled from their dearest”).

Dionysius clearly viewed his church community as a well-functioning Mediterranean kinship group, and he was proud that they were living up to their family ideals, even at the cost of their very lives. As Tertullian had said some years earlier:

“The practice of such a special love brands us in the eye of some. “See,” they say, “how they love one another and how ready they are to die for each other.”

Tertullian, Dionysius, and the Alexandrian Christians were only following in the footsteps of their Master: “This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16).